(gentle music) - [Coach] What are we doing today?

- [Students] Long jump, 100 (indistinct) and shotput.

- [Coach] All right.

- [Narrator] At Warren High School in LA County, there's a program bringing students together through the power of sports.

- Guys got it?

All right, I wanna see it real good.

Here we go.

- Our unified sports program is one of many of the inclusion efforts that we've had on this campus specifically centered on sports.

It was just an opportunity to give our students with special needs the chance to train with, compete with general education students as partners, as teammates.

On your mark, get set, go.

(upbeat music) It gives everybody a sense that they can find a place of belonging without judgment.

- You did really good.

You're not tired?

- Wish I was not tired of running.

- It's okay to be tired.

Me too.

(gentle music) - I enjoy like the sports of like basketball, soccer, track, and also seeing my fans.

Being a part of it like makes me feel happy and excited and I feel heroic.

- I don't think there's many schools that notice the kids with special disabilities, but now here like you can see everybody together playing together and they're just, they're able to be themselves and everybody has the same motive, which is to play together and to try to win.

- Really, I think it takes it back to the purity of sport, the love of the game.

Building a bond with your teammates, learning a sport, growing in that sport, challenging yourself to do something outside of your comfort zone.

- As you're coming up, you're pushing at the same time, okay?

- And I think it does prove to all of our athletes and all of our partners out there that they're capable of doing so much more than they maybe originally gave themselves credit for.

You ready, Adrian?

- Ready.

- Oh, with a spin.

- They're just human.

Like we need to change the mindset that these students have potential, and we just need to give them the opportunity and platform to show us those skills and believe in them so that they start believing in themselves.

- High five, we're gonna go out the back.

- [Narrator] Unified Sports was started by Special Olympics back in 2010.

Since then, it's grown across almost every state in the US, and even reached schools and communities and countries around the world.

The Downey Unified School District joined the movement in 2016.

- As we've continued to offer this, it's been incredible because now we go out and we compete against other schools and we're doing this competitive model which fits into CIF's initiative to push unified sports throughout the southern section and the state of California.

(dramatic music) - [Narrator] The school also hosts a unified track and field meet.

- [Announcer] Today, middle and high school students from Southern California come together at Justice Stadium to celebrate unified sports and compete.

- [Samantha] It is just an incredible opportunity to bring our local schools together and give them an opportunity to compete, to get to experience what every other student athlete on this campus gets to experience.

- [Announcer] Unified track meet.

- [Narrator] The unified sports program isn't just for high schoolers.

In the Downey Unified School District, it's also made its way into middle and even elementary schools.

(gentle music) - The beauty of the program, each campus can adapt it to their needs and how they wanna structure it.

At the elementary, you'll see it a little more structured to help guide the students along the way and give them that guidance and boundaries on how to connect.

- Can I play with you?

- Yes.

- Students naturally want to engage and play and collaborate with each other.

They just need to be provided with the tools to be able to do that.

We can participate by cheering on our friends, right?

I think what's been really touching to see is how much more understanding our general education students are.

They understand why our friend may need headphones and a little bit of a break, and that's been really beautiful.

Set, go!

(children yelling) I think we've been really surprised by how many peer relationships have formed in such a short amount of time.

Lucas, give friends high fives.

All people wanna find connection, and to know that they are wanted and they are included.

- The bonds and the friendships you see between the athletes and the partners, it's amazing.

- And I think those relationships are gonna stay with them through their lives.

- I feel like here at Warren, we're all the same.

- So like I have like brothers, families, but like, you know, having friends, like, it makes me happy.

- [Leah] There's a place for everyone, and it's with each other.

(gentle music)